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Tables are turned as al-Fayed accused of cover-up
Al-Fayed For 10 years he has accused the Establishment of covering up the truth about the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.
But the inquest heard repeated allegations that Mohamed al-Fayed and his aides actively sought to influence what came out about the crash.
While the Harrods owner spent the decade blaming the Duke of Edinburgh and MI6 for the tragedy, evidence mounted that the main cause was much simpler: drink-driving by one of his own employees.
At the end of the six-month hearing coroner Lord Justice Scott Baker voiced suggestions of "closing ranks" at the Fayed-owned Ritz Hotel in Paris over the question of whether they knew Henri Paul was drinking on the night of the smash.
The court also heard claims of:
Key witnesses being pressurised to back Mr al-Fayed's theories
An alleged attempt to influence what even police were told
And a suggestion of a "conspiracy to pervert the truth" within the Fayed organisation.
The allegations were strenuously denied.
The jury also heard a claim that the doomed plan to slip the couple out of the back of the hotel in a car driven by Henri Paul came from Dodi with the personal backing of Mohamed al-Fayed.
Among those the coroner openly called a "liar" was Mr al-Fayed's security director, John Macnamara. He claimed publicly that Mr Paul had been drinking only pineapple juice when in fact he had consumed two double shots of Ricard spirit in the hotel bar before taking the wheel.
Former al-Fayed security men Ben Murrell and Kieran Wingfield both suggested there were attempts to contain the evidence of bodyguard Trevor Rees, the sole survivor of the smash.
Mr Wingfield – a fellow bodyguard who escaped the crash because he was travelling in a second vehicle – added that he felt forced to leave his job in 1998 because of pressure to back the conspiracy theories.
He said he finally left his job as a bodyguard in 1998 when the tycoon began "ranting" and "swearing" at his refusal to go on television for an appearance he feared would fuel claims the Princess was murdered. Mr Wingfield, who is from Hull, also told the jury that there was an effort to stop Mr Rees talking to the police.
He said Mr al-Fayed's personal head of security, Paul Handley-Greaves, had offered to make arrangements for him to visit Mr Rees in hospital in France shortly after the crash – if he persuaded him not to speak to police about it.
Mr Handley-Greaves did not give evidence.
Mr Rees, who has no clear memory of the crash, himself indicated that he felt pressurised by Mohamed al-Fayed to "remember" a mystery flash in the tunnel seconds before the tragedy. He told the jury of one meeting while he was recovering from the crash in which Mr al-Fayed repeatedly suggested "possibilities" he might remember.
As the man responsible for security at the Villa Windsor – Mr al-Fayed's Paris mansion – Ben Murrell was a key figure in the organisation's security operation in France.
The jury heard claims that, had they survived, Diana and Dodi would have married and settled in the villa – former home of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.The couple called in to the house on the afternoon before their deaths – but only for 28 minutes.
However, Mr Murrell said he was asked to tell the reporters that they had stayed much longer and had been accompanied by interior designer Ardo Grossi – which would suggest they were planning to live there.
Mr Wingfield also said he raised misgivings about the plan to sneak Diana and Dodi out of the back of the hotel in a car driven by Henri Paul directly with Dodi shortly before the doomed journey. "I have total recall of his words," he told the court.
"His words were: 'It's OK, it has been okayed by MF, it has been okayed by my father'."
During Mr Murrell's evidence Richard Horwell QC asked: "If anyone is looking for a conspiracy to pervert the truth or to give a false account as to what happened in 1997, they would not have to look beyond your evidence or those facts – is that right?" He agreed.
Mr al-Fayed dismissed the evidence of Mr Rees, Mr Wingfield and Mr Murrell, claiming all three had been turned against him by MI6.
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Saturday 11 February 2012
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